Blossom of Snow
by MartinaH
Summary: Preparations to leave Austria
1. Default Chapter

**Blossom of Snow**

'There is a comfort in the strength of love;  
'Twill make a thing endurable, which else  
Would overset the brain, or break the heart'.

_Michael_, Wordsworth

Prelude: 

'Get the children all together,' directed Georg with a calmness that belied his internal anguish. 'Don't say anything that's going to make them worry, just get them ready….,' he gently guided Maria towards the staircase. 'We've got to get out of Austria, and this house…tonight.'

Drawing her to him, he wondered how he could ever have dealt with the telegram had she not become part of his life. Harsh, distant, angry man that he was, the 'request' from Berlin would have been the last straw. Now, albeit a bitter blow, he suddenly felt an inner equilibrium, an ability to deal the future, which would have been quite impossible without Maria's soothing presence. Breathing in the scent of her hair – lily of the valley or rosewater, he wasn't sure which – he tightened his arms around her shoulders, wishing they could continue standing together, their mingled silhouettes at the foot of the staircase.

'Georg…,' Maria slowly lifted her head, yearning to somehow absorb his distress, that by some form of osmosis the pain could leave him and enter her own body. 'Darling, we will get through this, we'll leave Austria and build a new life in…where exactly were you thinking?'

A flicker of a smile passed over his face. 'Switzerland would be the obvious choice,' he said, cupping her cheek. 'The Swiss _are_ renowned for their neutrality, after all.'

The desolation in his tone struck a deep chord within her. 'Anywhere, anywhere at all so long as you don't have to accept that commission,' she murmured, covering his hand with her own.

Georg looked at the piece of paper in his other hand with distain. 'Maria, I am only doing this out of sheer necessity…I hate the thought that I've only just brought you home only to leave again.'

'My home is with you,' she replied, reaching up to kiss his cheek. 'Although we're leaving, we _will _always be Austrian, Georg.' And, gently uncurling his fingers, she withdrew the telgram from his clenched fist.

'The Anschluss may have happened,' she whispered, tearing the telegram in half, 'but that does not mean we have to co-operate.' She tore the paper again into quarters.

His hand moved down the back of her lemon-coloured jacket, pressing her firmly to him. 'Maria, my love, you…' His throat constricted. 'You understand everything,' he finished, his voice condensed with love.

'Shh.' Maria kissed his neck. 'I know. Georg, I'm yours. Nothing can change that. And certainly not the Nazis.' Lightly brushing his lips with hers, she unwillingly extracated herself from his arms. 'And now I'm going to get the children ready.'

He grabbed her wrist as she began to climb the stairs. 'Maria...' She turned back and stared down at him, her eyes filled with devotion. 'You do know that…

'I love you,' they chorused in unison, grinning once more at their united response.


	2. Escaping the Black Spider

Chapter One 

Let me not to the marriage of true minds  
Admit impediments. Love is not love   
Which alters when it alteration finds,  
Or bends with the remover to remove.  
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,  
That looks on tempests and is never shaken.

Shakespeare, Sonnet 116 

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**Escaping the Black Spider**

The puzzled expression on Gretl's face almost broke Maria's resolve. She had called the children together in the older girls' bedroom to explain the need for their sudden departure, but now found it difficult to express herself without causing them undue worry. Attempting to remain composed, she remembered Georg's words: 'Don't say anything that's going to make them worry. Just get them ready.'

She inhaled deeply. 'Children, your father has been asked by the Nazis to take up a post as Naval Commander at Bremerhaven.' Hearing their gasps, she smiled reassuringly and squeezed Marta's hand tighter. 'But don't worry, dears, of course he's not going to accept – you know how he feels about the Nazis.'

'But…but people like Herr Zeller aren't just going to let him say 'No' like that,' murmured Brigitta solemnly, the possibility of having to leave the country creeping into her mind.

'Well, I'm afraid that's just it,' said Maria, stroking Gretl's braid. 'There is no way your father would accept their offer and equally no way they would allow him to refuse. That's why – ' she paused, '– we're going to have to leave Austria tonight.'

The children exchanged shocked glances.

'Leave?' echoed Liesl, suddenly realising the full import of Rolfe's telegram. 'But…this is our home…I mean, we're Austrians, we've lived here all our lives.' She gazed around at her siblings sitting on the three beds lining the room, their worried expressions mirroring her own.

'We don't have a choice, Liesl,' Maria replied quietly. 'I know that it's difficult to accept, but hopefully some day when the Nazis have gone we'll be able to return.'

'All that matters is sticking together,' said Friedrich gravely, nudging his brother. Kurt nodded in solemn agreement.

Sighing, Maria turned to Louisa who had been standing by the window sill, her gaze solidly fixed on the lake.

'Lousia?' inquired Maria gently. She knew that of all the children Louisa would probably find leaving the most painful, such had always been her love for the Austrian countryside, from climbing its trees to collecting its spiders.

'I agree we have to leave,' muttered the girl, pensively turning away from the view to face her family. 'Father could never join the Nazis. It's just– just so unfair that we should be the ones leaving while they take over our country.' She impatiently brushed a stray tear from her face, angry with herself for wanting to cry in frustration.

Gently letting go of Marta and Gretl, Maria walked over to her as the others watched soberly. Wrapping her arm around Lousia's shoulders, she guided her back to her siblings where Liesl took her hand in empathy. Usually the one to dismiss such signs of affection as soppy and girlish, this time Louisa returned Liesl's grip, grateful for her sister's support.

'Now children,' said Maria briskly, not wanting them to dwell on the enormity of what was happening, 'we've decided that Switzerland would be the best place to go, and seeing as we haven't got much time, we'd better start getting our things ready now.'

As the group began getting up from the beds, Gretl tugged at Maria's sleeve.

'Are you sure there aren't any Nazis in Switzerland, Mother?' she inquired, a frown puckering her tiny face.

'Quite sure, Gretl,' Maria reassured her, gathering the girl up in a hug.

'So there won't be any flags with the black spider on them?' asked Marta from underneath.

'Not a single one,' Maria replied, reaching down to pat her head. 'In fact, it's going to be a huge adventure, going to a new country, seeing lots of new things.' She raised her eyebrows at the older children as she spoke enthusiastically to the little girls, implicitly asking for support in reassuring their younger sisters.

'Mother's right,' Liesl agreed with alacrity. 'We'll have a lovely time in Switzerland,' she added, hoping that her hearty tone masked any worries she had.

'Right, then,' Maria brushed down her skirt. 'I'll go with Gretl and Marta to pack their things and I trust the rest of you to get your own bags ready.' Her tone was such that all the children sprung into action, Liesl running to her wardrobe to decide what clothes to take, Brigitta heading for the bookcase to make equally important choices.

As she made her way across the landing with Marta and Gretl, Maria could hear the other children discussing the prospect of leaving. Kurt's voice rose above the rest as he attempted to comfort Louisa: 'After all, Lou, there'll be plenty of spiders in Switzerland too.'

Smiling, Maria opened the door to the girls' bedroom, confident of her family's ability to build a new life.

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An hour later, Maria left Marta and Gretl to decide which dolls to take with an extremely bored Louisa and walked quickly towards the master bedroom at the other side of the house. Now that the children were finally packed, she needed to sort out her and Georg's luggage from the mass of trunks they had brought back from Paris. After the children's bags had been taken into account, they would only have room for about one suitcase each, she calculated.

The glint of the lake from one of the landing windows caught her eye as she walked, casting a shimmering shadow on the wall. Stopping, Maria leant by the window sill, mimicking Louisa's posture earlier on as she contemplated leaving her home. It was not for reasons of vanity that she sighed; forfeiting the role of Lady of the Manor did not cross her mind, merely that she would not have the opportunity of being the children's mother in the villa they loved.

'Maria.' She felt Georg's warm breath on her neck. So lost in thought, she had not noticed him until a pair of strong arms encircled her waist and a broad chest allowed her to lean back in comfort.

'Georg,' she sighed in contentment. Nestled in his arms, she felt nothing could ever hurt her. As he tightened the embrace, they both gazed towards the lake which was now bathed in twilight, its sparkling serenity at odds with the afternoon's hectic preparations.

Dissatisfied with being unable to see Georg's face, Maria slowly turned around in his arms, reaching up to loop her arms around his neck.

'We've still got to pack,' she muttered, without any real intention of moving from his firm hold.

'Mmm,' he replied non-commitally, his mind far away from the mundanity of suitcases. 'I never got the opportunity to welcome you home,' he said wistfully, their last Paris night having rapidly slipped into the realm of a parallel existence, an existence of exuberance and love apruptly shattered by the Nazis.

'Perhaps you still can…' Maria murmured, tilting up her head from where it had been resting on his chest. After the trauma of the day – hearing of the Anschluss as the train pulled into Salzburg, then the telegram – she felt a profound need for intimacy, to burn once more through the passion they had discovered on their honeymoon.

Lifting her chin up, Georg brushed his lips over hers, her sweetness absorbing all his senses, effortlessly eclipsing the day's painful news.

Smiling in their kiss, Maria pressed herself closer, standing on tiptoe to deepen their embrace. Georg reacted with equal intensity, his arms almost lifting Maria off the ground as he kissed her with a force, almost a fury, translating his anguished energy over Austria's fate into love for his wife.

Pulling back for air, they stared at each other, gasping and impatient.

'Do we have time…?', Maria whispered anxiously, wanting nothing more than to lose herself in him, despite the worry that they had to leave soon. 'The children…'

'We'll make time,' Georg cut in, silencing her concerns with a hungry kiss. As her hands began to roam inside his jacket, frantically tugging at his shirt, he knew he could wait no longer and, scooping her into his arms, strode towards the master bedroom where they proceeded to find solace in each other.


End file.
